WIR SIND AM LEBEN
A new German musical by Plate & Sommer
After the successful musicals “Ku'damm 56,” “Ku'damm 59,” “Romeo & Juliet – Liebe ist alles,” and most recently “DIE AMME,” Peter Plate and Ulf Leo Sommer are now embarking on their most personal project to date: “WIR SIND AM LEBEN” is their first musical developed entirely by themselves – a storey about family, freedom, and the spirit of life in Berlin in the early 1990s.
Berlin, 1990. The year that not only turned the city upside down, but also completely changed the lives of siblings Nina and Mario and their mother, Rosie. The Wall has fallen, order has vanished, and chaos begins.
Nina and Mario flee from Wittenberg to the capital – in search of themselves, of music, and of a different life. In an occupied old building called “Konsum Hoffnung,” they connect with a warm-hearted community that runs an impromptu crisis hotline. Mario falls in love with the Cuban dancer Nando, while Nina dreams of a career as a pop singer – in a city that prefers to listen to techno.
And then, all of a sudden, there is Rosie – played by Steffi Irmen, the star of the musicals “Ku'damm 59,” “Romeo & Julia – Liebe ist alles,” and, last but not least, her own hit musical “DIE AMME.”
A mother no one was expecting. Intrusive, uninvited, too late – and yet determined to win her children back in a life that has long since moved on without her. Her journey takes her right into the heart of the vibrant, challenging, untamed city of Berlin.
The era is marked by euphoria—and by fear. By a spirit of renewal—and by the all-encompassing reality of AIDS.
But “WIR SIND AM LEBEN” is not a pure drama. On the contrary. “It's going to be very, very funny,” says Plate. “Because the 90s weren't just sad or political – they were also absurd, uninhibited, tenderly crazy. We wanted to show it all: the sadness and the dancing. The anger and the warmth. The noise and the quiet.”
Peter Plate and Ulf Leo Sommer had the idea for “WIR SIND AM LEBEN” as early as 2009 and worked on an initial musical concept at that time. This led to the 2011 Rosenstolz album of the same name, their last. Since then, the idea of a musical has never left either of them.
In the summer of 2024, they revisited the topic and worked on an initial draft. Peter Plate and Ulf Leo Sommer wrote the book in collaboration with Franziska Kuropka and Lukas Nimscheck, who are also directing the musical. The music is by Peter Plate, Ulf Leo Sommer, and Joshua Lange.
Featuring a world-class cast and outstanding live musicians, with elaborate choreography by the internationally acclaimed Jonathan Huor (“Eurovision Song Contest 2025”) and a spectacular light show by Tim Deiling (Tony Award–nominated lighting designer).
Photo credits: Dominic Ernst, Joern Hartmann, and Michael Bidner
